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Movie News: New Hobbit Trailer, Lucas has the Force, Star Wars Episode 7 has a writer, Darth Vader Might Be Back, and Fox’s Comic Series Bonaza

TWIST: The Shat App, JJ directing Star Wars 7

SciFi 5 in 5 : Top SciFi women who could kick our @$$

New Trivia:

Trivia:Trivia

Question: Who was Starman, in the movie by that name?

You will have until December 11th to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person. The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.

Promos

Interview: Thomas Dekker

Thomas Alexander Dekker (born December 28, 1987) is an American film and television actor and a musician. He is also a singer and has written and produced two albums.

He is best known for his roles as John Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Nick Szalinski on Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, and Zach onHeroes. He also did the voice of Littlefoot in The Land Before Time V-IX (singing voice in The Land Before Time V) and as Fievel Mousekewitz in An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island and An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster. He is also known for playing Jesse Braun in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and recently, Smith in Gregg Araki’s film Kaboom. Dekker most recently starred as Adam Conant on The CW series The Secret Circle.

Early life

Dekker was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. His mother, Hilary, is a concert pianist, acting coach, actress, and singer, and his late father, David John Ellis Dekker, was an artist, set designer, opera singer, and actor.His mother is Welsh and his father was an American with Dutch ancestry. As a child, he and his parents moved all over the world, spending time in the United States, Europe (Yorkshire, England, in particular) and Canada.

Career

Early career

Starting his acting career at age six, Dekker was first seen in the soap The Young and the Restless. He then appeared in Star Trek Generations and Village of the Damned. Later, in 1997, he became a regular on the Disney Channel Original Show Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show based on the movie of the same name where he played Nick Szalinski for three years. After the show ended in 2000, he went on to appear in Run of the House, Fillmore!, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, House, Boston Public, Reba and 7th Heaven. He appeared in films such as Campus Confidential and An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster. He has won three Young Artist Awards for his work in The Land Before Time films and one for his guest appearance on Boston Public.

2006–present

In 2006, Dekker landed a recurring role on Heroes playing the character of Zach, (Claire Bennet’s best friend). He played Zach for eleven episodes before leaving Heroes to take a starring role in Fox’s new showTerminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as John Connor, starring opposite Lena Headey and Summer Glau. That show debuted January 13, 2008 and was canceled on May 18, 2009. Dekker also played the lead character Nate Palmer in the web based science fiction series IQ-145.

In 2009, Dekker appeared in From Within, a thriller filmed in 2007, and My Sister’s Keeper, a drama in which he starred alongside Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin, Abigail Breslin and Medium star Sofia Vassilieva.

Recent roles include Laid to Rest, which also stars Lena Headey, All About Evil, an indie horror film, Slaughter’s Road, a werewolf film co-starring Ray Stevenson and directed by David Hayter, and Cinema Verite, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family in which he plays Lance Loud. He starred in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, released on April 30, 2010. His character’s name was Jesse Braun, loosely based on the character Rod Lane in the original.

Dekker stars in Gregg Araki’s Kaboom. It is the first film ever awarded the Cannes Film Festival “Queer Palm Award” for its contribution to LGBT presence in cinema. Dekker was a “top candidate” for the lead role in Paramount’s remake of Footloose but the role went to Kenny Wormald.

In April 2011, Dekker starred as Lance Loud in the HBO original film Cinema Verite, about the creation of America’s first reality television series, An American Family.

As of 2011, he has been cast as Adam, the male lead on the TV series The Secret Circle developed by The CW.

TV News:

6th Doctor warns there’ll be no classic Doctors back for Who’s 50th

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker, who is best known for wearing a coat that looks like a rainbow threw up all over it, recently opened up about Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary. Looks like he’s not likely to appear in any future episodes … and that’s not all.

Specifically, when asked if he would reprise his role for the show’s 50th anniversary, Baker said, “No. As far I know, neither of any of my erstwhile colleagues have been asked either.” He didn’t seem terribly broken up about it either, adding, “I think they would be scraping the bottom of the barrel if they asked me to do it. All you have to do is hold up a picture of what I look right now and what I look like then and you’d know why.”

All right, Colin’s not wrong. Still, though! Fifth Doctor Peter Davison has already successfully returned in the hilarious short episode, Time Crash, so surely there are ways around the age issue. 7th Doc Sylvester McCoy is enjoying a nice little resurgence as Radagast the Brown in The Hobbit, so surely he would be a contender for a return. Paul McGann’s eighth incarnation could have been fighting the Time War for as long as the show needed, which is to say nothing of the fact that the dude is still looking pretty fit.

It seems, however, that despite all these reasons, the classic Doctors, as of this moment, shan’t return for the 50th. Should they? Moreover, do you believe this news—or is Colin Baker fibbing?

Movie News:

Intense new Hobbit trailer shows off crazy Middle-earth action

As we inch closer to the opening of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit next month, the studio has released a new trailer showing off some intense new action footage from the Lord of the Rings prequel.

The new footage jumps right into the adventure, with orcs and tons of epic action on display. It looks fantastic and definitely has the same feel as the previous LOTR trilogy.

Here’s the official synopsis for the first installment, An Unexpected Journey:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever… Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

George Lucas reveals how involved he’ll be in Star Wars VII

After Lucasfilm’s sale to Disney, the big question has been just how involved Star Warscreator George Lucas would be in the upcoming sequels. If a new interview with Lucas is to be believed, we have our answer—a lot.

In an interview explaining the deal, Lucas and Lucasfilm exec Kathleen Kennedy discuss the plan moving forward. Aside from reiterating that all those tie-in novels and comics are officially not continuity, Lucas explains what his role as “creative consultant” will be. Essentially? He’s going to have his fingerprints all over that script Michael Arndt (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Little Miss Sunshine, Phineas and Ferb) is putting together.

Check out the interview below: It’s not too surprising to hear that Disney wants the original architect involved in the scripting phase, but let’s hope execs keep enough control to prevent a Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menacelevel meltdown of Jar Jar proportions. What do you think? Are you glad to hear Lucas will be heavily involved in scripting, or do you wish he’d just back off and pass the torch?

It’s now official: Star Wars Episode VII has a writer!

We’ve been wondering who Disney and Lucasfilm would hire to write the new Star Warssequel, and now the higher-ups have confirmed that the job has officially been filled. So who will pen Star Wars VII?

As was rumored a few days ago, Michael Arndt (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Little Miss Sunshine, Phineas and Ferb) has been confirmed as the man who will bring one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises back to the big screen.

As pre-production of Star Wars: Episode VII begins, Lucasfilm has confirmed that award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay for the new Star Wars film. As revealed in the ongoing video series posted here on StarWars.com, Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas have begun story conferences with Arndt. Arndt won an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay for writing Little Miss Sunshine (2006), and was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for writing Toy Story 3 (2010).

Though he doesn’t have a mountain of experience, Arndt’s catalog is solid, and we’re curious to see his take on Star Wars. Plus, with George Lucas staying on as a consultant, you’d have to think he’ll also get a pass at this thing before it’s all over (which could be a good or bad thing, it all depends). What do you think? Is Arndt the man for the job?

Rumor of the Day: Star Wars VII will bring Darth Vader back to life

Though a lot of the original cast have expressed interest in bringing their characters back for Star Wars VII, one of the franchise’s most famous baddies bit the dust decades ago—but don’t count Darth Vader out just yet.

The Express is reporting a rumor that Disney is keen to bring iconic evildoer Darth Vader back for the latest installment, which could be tough considering that he died in the climax of Return of the Jedi.

Here’s what their anonymous insider had to say:

“He’s an integral part of the franchise. Replacing him is virtually impossible. The plan is for him to return and play a significant role in the new films … This is science fiction remember. Darth Vader will rise from the ashes.”

It makes sense that they’d want to use Vader, one of the most iconic characters in film, in their new trilogy. But, if true, it could irk fans to have one of the biggest moments from the original films ret-conned just to use a popular character.

It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out, but you’ve got to admit, it would be cool to have Han,Luke, Leia and Vader all back in one film. What do you think? Should Vader come back from the dead?

Whoa! Fox may have 10+ Marvel comic book movies in the works

Could an X-Force, Deadpool or Cable movie be on the way soon? After seeing the success Marvel has had with The Avengers, the folks at Fox are happy to take a page from their playbook—saying as many as 10 new comic-book-based movies could be coming down the pike from the studio. Comic guru and creative consultant Mark Millar recently opened up to Comic Book Resources about Fox’s long-term plan to capitalize on the Marvel properties in their stable (X-Men, Fantastic Four), and said the upcoming Wolverine standalone represents a fresh start for the company. If all goes well, as Iron Man did for Marvel, we could see as many as 10 new comic book movies out of Fox in the coming years: “I felt like Iron Man was really the beginning of something for the Marvel Studios movies, and The Wolverine will be a similar starting point to build a lot off of for the Fox movies … X-Force or Cable or Deadpool — all these amazing characters are things we haven’t really gotten to yet. You go to any convention in the world, and you’ll see 20 people dressed as Deadpool. In a lot of ways, these are Marvel’s coolest characters, so I want to remind people of that and build on what we already have. I think there’s a great foundation, and just from basic conversations, we’ve come up with ten movies we could do … These things cost $150 million each to make, so we have to pick and choose what we want to do.” With The Wolverine, Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four and X-Men: Days of Future Past all in the works, we’re glad to see Fox learning from what’s been successful and finally taking their comic properties seriously. With Millar on board, here’s hoping they can actually hit that quality sweet spot that Marvel has perfected with Phase One of their film plan. What do you think? Can Fox successfully build an expansive comic universe ala Marvel/Disney?

This week in Star Trek:

Want Shatner’s voice in your pocket? There’s an app for that

Even if we just love to hate it, there’s no doubt that we all have love for William Shatner’s legendary voice. In fact, some of you have probably been wishing you could just carry that voice around in your pocket all day long, right? Right? Well, this is your lucky day.

Blindlight Apps has just launched a new $2.99 download for your iPhone called “Shatoetry,” which lets you create your own bit of William Shatner monologue based on pre-recorded speech from the actor himself. It’s like having Shatner in your pocket, and he’ll say (almost) anything you want.

Basically, you get to choose from any of the words Shatner pre-recorded, then arrange those words into a phrase or speech or poem for Shatner’s voice to read back to you. You can even pick from three different cadences based on what tone you’d like to set. And best of all, you can insert a patented Shatner pause at any time to give that extra Shatnery feel.

For example, here’s a “Shatism,” as the app calls for them, perfect for that Friday evening commute home:

The app also comes with a “Create With Friends” mode, so you can collaborate on new Shatisms and even build on Shatisms your friends have already created. It’s perfect for the die-hard Shatner fan, or for someone who just wants to really annoy a friend who’s super into Patrick Stewart.

Following last week’s surprising merger of Lucasfilm and Disney, it has already been announced that three new Star Wars films are already planned.

With Star Wars: Episode VII scheduled to begin filming sometime in 2014 and a release set for the following year, the search for a director has become a top priority for the Disney team. The official Star Wars website has already reported that award-winning writer Michael Arndt has been tapped to write the screenplay.

As pre-production of Star Wars: Episode VII begins, Lucasfilm has confirmed that award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay for the new Star Wars film. As revealed in the ongoing video series posted here on StarWars.com, Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas have begun story conferences with Arndt.

According to Vulture, some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Star Trek‘s J.J. Abrams, The Incredibles‘ Brad Bird and Raiders Of The Lost Ark‘s Steven Spielberg will (or possibly have already) receive a 40-something page treatment of the film to gauge their interest in taking on the directing duties for the film.

UPDATE:

Hollywood Life recently discussed the possibility of directing the next Star Wars film with J.J. Abrams during an interview. While Abrams plays down the possibility, he doesn’t entirely rule it out.

Look, Star Wars is one of my favorite movies of all time. I frankly feel that – I almost feel that, in a weird way, the opportunity for whomever it is to direct that movie, it comes with the burden of being that kind of iconic movie and series. I was never a big Star Trek fan growing up, so for me, working on Star Trek didn’t have any of that, you know, almost fatal sacrilege, and so, I am looking forward more then anyone to the next iterations of Star Wars, but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer!